March 27, 2011

Lake Sammamish Half

Vegetable udon soup may be my new pre-race meal, and the leftovers with extra sauteed udon were even better than the original (the mushroom flavor soaked into the broth and the added fat made it much more delicious). Healthy, hearty, but light.

A good night's sleep and an easy wake-up made me feel like this was going to be a good race.

I conned E into driving me to the start, which was awesome, since the course is one-way and the last bus was much too early for my taste.

We walked down to the Starbucks in our building, caffeinated, and we were off. Only problem was, Google maps decided to give us directions to the finish, not the start. Apparently, "Lake Sammamish" will give you directions to the Marymoor park, not Lake Sammamish State Park. They are both on the lake, but Google decided it knew best without informing me and by the time we figured it out, we were a 20 minute drive from the start (and we needed gas).

By the time we arrived, the centipede of runners was snaking away from the start and I had to run against them to try to get my chip activated. I finally turned the corner to see the start archway deflating.

Oh, well. I turned around, now the last person in the centipede and tried to make the best of it. My initial miles were on pace for my hoped for goal of breaking 2 hours. Unfortunately, around mile 6, I bonked and just couldn't keep that pace anymore. So, I did the best I could and completed 12.49 (I lost a bit of distance in the beginning madness) at the fastest pace I've in run a race in 2 years.

All in all, it was a great day. The weather held perfectly cool without raining. I pushed myself physically and found that yes, I am regaining my former fitness level, but, I still have a ways to go.

Night 1: Sautée ginger and garlic in olive oil on high until garlic starts to brown. Add carrots and stir. Add 2-4 cups broth, some somen base and water and bring to a boil. Add mushrooms and radicchio and simmer for 10 minutes. Add chives and 1 block of frozen udon, simmer for a few minutes until the udon is cooked through. Taste broth and add somen base if not flavorful enough. Serve with chili sauce as a garnish.

Night 2: heat leftovers in the microwave and sauté udon in olive oil and a tsp of somen soup base. Add sautéed noodles to re-heated broth and enjoy!